Refinishing a log cabin with the help of my 3 Festool sanders

[Frank Pellow]

This entry is divided into two parts because we are limited to 5 pictures in a single posting.

Here is Part 1:

The main building at Pellow’s camp is a Pan Abode western red cedar “log cabin” that I built in 1976. It is partly constructed on the rock foundation of the original log cabin that my dad and his friends built in the early 1930s. That cabin burned down in 1961.

I used Solignum Woodland Natural stain on the walls and that looked quite good for about 5 years on the walls exposed to lots of sun and about 10 on the walls with little exposure to sun. So, periodically I have sanded down, then re-stained different sides of the cabin. This year it was the north wall’s turn. I last stained this wall 16 years ago so the turn was long overdue as you can see from photo 1 and photo 2.
I used all three of my new Festool sanders to do the job:

• First, the Rotex RO 150 E random orbital sander in aggressive mode to remove the majority of old stain and decayed wood (with Saphire P50 paper). I also used this sander with Saphire P24 paper on the log ends. See photo 3.

• Next the Deltex DX 93 E extended triangular pad sander (with Saphire P60 paper) to remove gunk from corners and groves. Note that, when the extended pad is used, it is not possible to connect the sander to the vacuum but I was willing to the sacrifice the benefits of the vacuum for the extra reach provided by the extended pad. See photo 4.

• Finally the Duplex LS 130 EQ linear sander (with Rubin P80 paper) to smooth wood before re-staining. See photo 5.

In the past I used a combination of a Makita belt sander and a Makita palm sander. They were much harder to use than my Festool sanders, the sanding job took about twice as long, and the results were not nearly as good. Although my Festool sanders make the whole job faster, easier, and better, it still takes quite a bit of time (19 hours to be precise).

Photo attachment summary:

photo 1: The north wall with just a small section sanded

photo 2: A close up view of part of photo 1

photo 3: Frank sanding with the Festool Rotex RO 150

photo 4: Frank sanding with the Festool Deltex DX 93 E

photo 5: Frank sanding with the Festool Duplex LS 130 EQ E

[Frank Pellow]

Here is part 2.

Photo 6 and photo 7 show the two segments of the north wall after the sanding was completed.

Photo 8 and photo 9 show the two segments of the north wall after the staining it was completed. The wood really soaked up the stain. This time, I used semi-gloss whereas I used gloss the last time. I put two coats of stain on the walls (with a brush) and the total time to do this part of the job was only a bit more than 3 hours. I am very happy with the result and I am optimistic that the gloss reduction plus the fact that I sanded the logs much better will result in a longer lasting finish. The finish on the very top logs had not deteriorated, so I left it. Those logs (see the top at the far right of photo 9) are glossier and do not look as good as the others.

[Jim Becker]

Wow! Quite a transformation, Frank!! Looks like you just built it!!

[Peter Pedisich]

Frank,

Looks like your hard work paid off! Great color, Jim is right - it looks like new.
My CT22 has changed the way I work in ways I just could not see before owning it.

Thanks for sharing!

Pete

[Frank Pellow]

Frank,

Looks like your hard work paid off! Great color, Jim is right - it looks like new.
My CT22 has changed the way I work in ways I just could not see before owning it.

Thanks for sharing!

Pete

Thanks Peter (and Jim). Folks that have seen the cabin in person also say that the north wall looks like new (and that the other walls don't -more work for next year) .

For those not steeped in Festool part numbers , the CT22 that Peter is talking about is the the model of the vacuum cleaner that you see me using in some of the pictures.

[Per Swenson]

Nice Job Frank!

Looks great.

Per

P.S.

Nice legs.

[Frank Pellow]

Nice Job Frank!

Looks great.

Per

P.S.

Nice legs.

Per, that's the second compliment on my legs that I have had here in the last week. I am going to be getting a complex.

[Bart Leetch]

Nice job Frank the walls look great.

Who is the Guy with the bird legs?

[Steve Clardy]

Nice job Frank the walls look great.

Who is the Guy with the bird legs?

Hehe. Frank. You haven't answered Bart yet

[Christian Aufreiter]

P.S.

Nice legs.

I was thinking exactly the same but would never have posted it.

@Frank: What a great job. The house looks as if it were new.

Regards,

Christian

[John Stevens]

I was thinking exactly the same but would never have posted it.

That makes four of us. Frank, what's your secret: running? cycling? weight training? Oh yeah, the info on the Festool sanders is great, too.

[Bruce Page]

You must have the arms of a prize fighter!
Looks great!

[Frank Pellow]

You must have the arms of a prize fighter!
...

… Frank, what's your secret: running? cycling? weight training?
…

I expect that all you guys commenting on my arms and legs are joking but, just in case someone is not, I will answer.

I am fortunate to be both strong and in excellent health. For a period of about 20 years, I swam at least a kilometre a day 7 days a week, then for another 7 years I biked the Seattle hills to and from work (about 15 K a day), then for the last 3 years I have simply done a LOT of physical labour.

[Bob Noles]

Frank,

That had to be a whale of a job and require the patience of Job. I am not sure I could have handle 19 hours of sanding no matter how good the tool.

The end result looks fantastic and made the effort worth while. Nice job.

[Jason Tuinstra]

Frank, that's an incredible job! It turned out great. Who would have thought that three FESTOOL sanders could have refinished a house! I think you get the award for the largest woodoworking project!